Valve for internal-combustion engines.



A. LAFON.

VALVE FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.v

APPLICATION FILED MAY 14. 1912.

1,160,292.. Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

IMVENTOR wlmsszs Alphonse LaFon I MTMZHEW I A. LAFON. VALVE FOR INTERNALCOMBUSTlON ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 14, 19I2.

- Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 WITNESSES 1 v [NI/EH71? (fiw Al uhcnse LoxFan' momma vt s six.) ilf fit it i MPHQNSE LAFON, OF DETROIT, TllIIGHIGfiN,hSSTlGll'KJl-t 3F QIEE-HATJF TO ALTBEET B.

' BQYH'EGN, F SEXVJLEEN, IQ'EW JEREJEY.

VALVIE FOB; INTEENAL-CDIYTBUSTIGIET EEGENES.

Specification of Letters Eetent.

Patented ov. it), M315.

.epplication filed May 143.912. Serial is). 697,173.

To all whom it may concern: i

Be it lmown that I, ALPHoNsE Lenoir, e citizen of the United Stetes enda resident of Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan,have invented a. new and Improved Valve for Internal-Combustion Engines.of which the following is it full,

7 clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvement in valves for internal combustionengines, and the object thereof is to produce an improvement of thisnature which will be simple and easy to make and advantageous operation,providing foreficient scsvengleg of the power cylinder without the useof auxiliary pumping devices, and likewise allowing o tthe efiicientoiling of the parts I attain .tl'fe above-mentioned objects andadvantages by means of a. valve that con sists of a hollow body havingpassages and ports formed therein, the whole being made in one piece andbeing driven by any eppropriete connection from the engine crank shaft:v i

Refereiice is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming aport ofthis speciiicotion, in which the same characters of reference indicatethe some parts in all the views.

Figure 1 represents a sectional view taken through the power cylinder inwhich the velve is mounted, the plane of section at rightengles to theaxis of rotation of the valve, and the valve itself being shown in endelevation, the point of view being from the side on which the flywheelis located; Fig. 2 represents a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing thevalve viewed from the opposite side; Fig. 3 is a sectional view on theline of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow; Fig. 4 is atrans-- verse sectional view of the valve looking into the same from theside which is located adjacent the flywheel; and Fig. 5 is a siniilorsectional view looking into the valve toward the side adjacent theflywheel.

On the drawings, the numeral 1 repre sents a power cylinder in whichmoves a piston 2. This power cylinder is provided with the usual waterjacket inclosing spaces 3 for the passage oi cooling liquid, and isprovided with a hood l, through which cio tends an exhaust passage 5 andan inlet pusszigc U. The exhaust pass 5 is hi forested at its inner endto provide a pair ofbrsnches"? g and the inlet pesscge e comn unicetesat. its inner end with e pair of similar branches 8, these branchesterminatint; in ports with which register ports der 1. The valve itselishown at 1.0 and y it is out sway over neerly half :1 circumference,shown at 11, toesteblish comment cation between the hollow interiorthereof and the Working chamber of the cylinder 1. valve is mounted on sspindle 12 which extends therefrom at one end, end this spindle 12 isprovided with a. duct 13 which regisi rs with similar duct in the bodyof the valve, this duct opening through the outside surface of the valve10, the spindle of course losing mode rigid with the valve body torot-etc the some. The duct 13' terminates in a passage it which opensthrough the side of the spindle in position to register with on oilpassage 1*", to which leads an oil pipe 16. The rela tive location ofthe passages. 1e and 15 is such that these two spaces will communicateon the intake stroke of the piston 2 to fill the duct 13 with oil, andthe oil in this duct will be caused to flow out through theend thereofby the cehtriiugel force of the rototing; velve 10.

The valve is provided at point opposite the spindle 12 with a journal 17rigid with the valve end in axial alinement with the formed in the topof the cylinder 1, and the lower face of the head 4:; and the valverotates on the spindle 12 and join-m l 17 when in operation.

19 is a port which passes through the shell of the valve on the someside as the spindle i2, and adjacent this port 19 is a similar port 20.21 is a, third-port of greater angular extent than either of the ports19 or 20, located on the some side of the valve 10 as the two portsabove mentioned; end is a tube or conduit cast inside the valve body 10and terminating in a. lip 23, which is located adjacent the port 20.Another port is shown at 18, and this port is located at the oppositeend of the 24 is the usual igniter, this igniter pass- 7 ing inward fromthe side of the cylinder through the journal 17, which is made hollowfor this purpose, and terminating in spark points inside of the valvebody 10.

The spindle 12 projects outward through the'cylinder wall and carries onits outer end a gear or sprocket wheel shown diagrammatically in brokenlines in Fig. 3, and this wheel is to be connected by means of a chainor by intermediate gears to the crank shaft, so that the valve 10 can beoperated in step and in proper speed relation with the engine.

The branch passages 7 terminate in ports which are of substantially thesame area at opposite ends of the valve 10, but 'the branches 8terminate in ports of unequal area, the larger at the same end of thevalve as the port 18, this port of larger area being shown in Figs. 1and 4. The opposite edges of the ports 7 and '8 are thesame distanceapart at both ends of the valve, but the adjacent edges of the port 7and the, port of larger area 8 at the same end of the valve as the port18, are of course closer together than the adjacent edges of the ports 7and 8 at the opposite end of the valve. As a result, the port; 18 willcome into registry with the port 8 of larger area before the port 19will come into registry with the port 8 of smaller area at the other endof the valve.

The valve is rotated around the spindle 12 and journal 17 as an axis.All the ports are closed at the beginning of the power stroke, theposition of the parts at this step in the cycle of the operation of the.engine beingshown in Fig. 1, the valve communieating with the powerchamber in the cylinder 1 through the opening 11. The rotation isclockwise referring to Fig. 1. At the end of the power stroke the port19 comes into registrywith the port at the end of the passage 7 at thesame end ofthe valve, and the ort 18 comes into registry with the portat the opposite end, and on the return of the piston the gases areforced out through these ports and passages 7 and exhaust conduit 5.After the ports 18 and 19 are past registering position with the portsatthe ends. or the passages 7, the'port 20 comes into registry with theport 7 on the flywheel side of the valve, and just before thisregistering takes place between the port 20 and adjacent port 7, theopening 11 through the valve moves out of registry with the adjacent endof the power chamber of the cylinder 1, sothat the shell of the valvecuts oil into uncovered position adjacent the end of the cylinder, andthe remaining gases of combustion are through passage 7. The'ejectoraction of the stream of gases passing through the. conduit 22 forcedtherethrough and the tube 22 and'out through the" port sound port at theend of'the adjacent clears the interior of the valve 10-of'thef burntgases it contains, the burnt gases of the valve to dilute the freshmixture which is drawn in to form the next fuel charge, I a

To relieve the partial vacuum that. would be formed by the burnt gasesbeing ejected from the interior of the valve 10, the port v18 comes intoregistry with the enlarged port 8 before the port 20 and the port attheend of the adjacent 'passage'7 move out, of comso that-aslittleoif Y aspossible remain inside munication with each other. Fresh mixture thenstarts to How in, but little or none of this fresh mixture is lost bypassing out throu h exhaust gases can flow backward into' the '90 theport 20 and the exhaust conduit -vbe valve is so timed that themixturestartsto flow into the valve 10 to relieve the partial vacuumformed thereinbefore any of-thegfvalve; and before any of the'mix'ture'can. flow outward after the exhaust gaseggthe movement of the valve 10will destroy com munication with the exhaust conduitfand will then passthrough the conduit 22-andport 21 further movement of to the cylinder ofthe engine. The the valve; closes the;

intake and outlet'ports and compression and resents the position Whio'hthe valve and its suction stroke. with the enlarged port at the endofYthe end of the adjacent exhaust passage7,.as above stated. Later onthe port 19 will move into registry with the smaller intake port, andthe two ports 18 and 19 will move out of registry with the ports at theend of thepassages 8 about at the samednstant. The-operation of chargingis finished after the port 20 has moved out of registry with the port attheend of the adjacent intake passage 8, as will be readily understood.

I Figs, 4 and 5 show the valve and its ports. in the positionsthey'occupy about at the'beginning of the exhaust stroke, and it willadjacent passage 8 before the port 20 moves entirely out ofregistrywiththe port at the be understood that during compression theports leading to the intake and exhaust con.-. duits, will be completelyclosed. The intethe mixture in theinterior of the, valve 10 .1

ports occupy about at thebeginning ofthe The port 18 will register;

ince se ta rior cit the valve, however, will not be closed oii from theinterior of the cylinder during the compression stroke, for the reasonthat the port 21 will remain uncovered until the nearest end of thecutaway portion 11 is uncovered, so that, during the con'iprcssionstroke, communication will be established at all times with the interiorof the cylinder 1 and the interior of the valve, either through theconduit :22 or the opening 11. There are no projections on the inside oroutside of: my valve to serve as places on which carbon.

can be deposited, the end oi the conduit 22 being rounded off at 23opposite the port 20 to avoid this result. The ducts 15 and 13 willefliciently lubricate the valve, the oil flowing out through the innerend of the duct 13 by centrifugal force, and distributing itself evenlyover the entire outer surface of the valve 10. The cooling spaces 3extend into the head at, and the valve is at all times protected andcooled by the body thereof being in contact all the way around with thewater jacketof the engine. The pressure of the gases in the cylinderonly serves to force the valve tighter against the head iof thecylinder. With a. puppet valve located in the head this pressure willforce oil out, making elaborate oiling devices necessary, but in mydevice the oil is forced to flow Where it is most needed. It will benoted that on account of the fact that the cut-away portion 11 isestablishing communication between the interior or the cylinder 1 andthe interior of the valve at the time when ignition takes place, therising pressure of the gases tends to expand the valve,

and the stress of this expanding force natu-- rally produces thegreatest effect on the side in which the cutaway opening 11 is formed.This causes the half of the valve in Which the opening 11 is formed tobe crowded more tightly against its seat, and any oil ever the outerportion of the surface of this part ofthe valve is forced over on theother half of the valve,.wh ich is the upper half in the position of theparts shown. in Fig. Ii. Hence, the oil cannot escape, but is at alltimes retained between the valve and its seat. lVhcn the pressurediminishes, owing to the outstrolre of the piston and the con-- sequentexpansion of the gases, the valve is relieved of the stress put upon it,and once more runs free. The gases passing into the chamber inside ofthe valve, and passing through the tube or conduit :22, cool the valve,and in. so doing-are heated, thus saving waste heat and facilitating thecombustion. The ignition, when the same takes place, causes the gas toburn in a spherical combustion chamber formed on the inside of thevalve, and to expand through the opening 11 against the head of thepiston 52, The valve rotates half as fast as the crank shalt, thusreducing friction and wear and ennearly equal,

abling the use of comparatively small ports. The socalled wire drawingof the gases obviated by the fact that, while one port, namely, the port19, is moving out of'registering position, the other port 20 is opening,and when the latter port is closed, the operation either of theexhausting or suction is Thus I avoid the jerky opening and shuttingwhich areniet with 'in valves of other types, and which are so (isstructive to the mechanism. The valve can be exactly timed, and thevalve openings can be made of any desiredsize, as will be read ilyunderstood. Leakage is avoided by using a copper gasket between thecylinder head and the top of the cylinder; and by discharging the hotgases from more than one point the heating ellect is equalized and thewarping of the parts prevented. Furthermore, the cold incoming gases aredrawn through several openings and partly through the same ports in thevalve through which the exhaust areforced out, thus tending to keep allthe parts at the same itemporature. Furthermore, the fact that themixture is drawn in through several openingsmakes the mixing perfect andgives a very eilicient combustion.

Having thus described my invention, 1' clann as new and desire to secureby Let-v,

hollow valve body constituting a portion of the combustion chamber, andmeans for exhausting the products of combustion therefrom including aconduit in the valve body arranged to communicate at one end with thecylinder of the engine duringthe exhaust period, and opening at itsother end within the valve and in close proximity to the port throughwhich the exhaust gases pass therefrom.

v2. In a valve construction for internal combi'istion engines, thecombination of a cylinder having an exhaust conduit and an intakeconduit, branch passages leading frpin the inner ends of said conduitsto the firing chamber of the engine, a hollow valve having ports in itsend, said ports being in alinerneut with each, other to controlcommunication between said passages and said firing chamber, said portsand said passages beingso located that the valve ports establishcommunication simultaneously with the exhaustpassage while one of theports opens communication with one of the intake passages in advance ofthe other port. I v I 3. lln a valve construction for internalcombustion engines, the combination of a cylinder having an exhaustconduit and an intake conduit, each of said conduits terminating inbranch passages at its inner end leading to the firingchamber of theengine, a hollow rotating valve to control commucombustion engines, ahollow rotating valve:

having a pair of ports at oneend and having a conduit formed inside ofthe same,

said conduit opening through the valve at one end andhaving its otherend located adjacent one of the first-named ports, and a second port atthe opposite end of the valve in alinement with the other of saidfirstnamed ports. i

5. In a valve construction for internal combustion engines, thecombination of a cylinder having an exhaust conduit and an intakeconduit, each of said conduits terminating in branch passages at itsinner end leading to the firing chamber of the engine, a hollow rotatingvalve having ports to communicate withsaid branch passages and anadditional port to communi cate with the power chamber of the engine.

6. In a valve construction for internal combustion engines, thecombination of a cylinder having an exhaust conduit and an intakeconduit, each of said conduits terminating in branch passages at itsinner end leading to the firing chamber of the engine, a hollow rotatingvalve having ports to communicate with said b'ranchpassages, anadditional port to communicate with the power chamber of the engine, anda conduit communicating with said addi ,tional port, said conduit beinglocatedinside the valve.

7. A valveshaped to inclose a space therein and having ports throughwhich said space communicates with the power chamber of an internalcombustion engine and with the exhaust outlet of the same, said valvehaving a passage opening through the outer surface of the valve andhaving its inner end in communication with the space inside the valve,said inner end being located adjacent the port through which the saidspace com-.

municates with the exhaust passage of the engine. v

A rotary valve shaped to lnclose a space therein and having ports 'through which said 1 space communicates with thepower chamber of aninternal combustion. engine and with the exhaust outlet of the same,said valve having a passage opening through the outer surface of thevalve and having its inner end in communication with the space insidethe valve, said inner end being located adjacent said space, said valvehaving another port located adjacent the port through which the spacecommunicates with the exhaust conduit, the inner end of said passagebeing lo-. cated adjacent said second port.

10. A rotary valve comprising a body shaped to inclose a space andhaving ports through which said space communicates with the firingchamber of an internal combustion engine and the exhaust outlet of thesame, said valve also having a passage opening at one end through theouter surface thereof and having its inner end in communication withsaid space, said valve having another port'located adjacent the portthrough which the space communicates with the'exhaust conduit, the innerend of said lish communication simultaneously with the exhaust portswhile one of the valve ports opens communication with one of the intakepassages in advance of the other port..

12. In a valve construction for internal combustion engines, thecombination of a, cylinder having an exhaust conduit and an intakeconduit, branch passages leadingf from the inner ends of said conduitsto the firing chamber of the engine, said branch passages for eachconduit being located in the same plane, and a hollow valve havingoppositely-located ports, said ports and said passages being so locatedthat the valve ports establish communication simultaneously with theinner ends of the exhaust passages while one of lShG'POItS openscommunication with the inner end of one of the intake passages inadvance of the other port.

'13. In a valve construction for internal combustion engines, thecombination of a cylinder having an exhaust conduit and an intakeconduit, each of said conduits terminating in branch passages at itsinner end leading to the firing chamber offthe engine,

a hollow valvehaving ports therethrough,'f

said ports and said passages being'so located said ports and said saidvalve also having a port located beside one of the first-named ports andfollowing the same, and. having a passage opening at one endvthrough theouter surface of the valve and having its other end in communicationwith the inside of the valve and 10-" cated adjacent the last-namedport.

In a valve construction for internal combustion engines, the combinationof a cylinder-having an exhaust conduit and an intake conduit, each ofsaid conduits terminating in branch passages at its inner end leading tothe firing chamber of the engine, the branch passages foreach of saidconduits being located in the same plane, and'a. hollow valve havingo'ppositelydocated ports passages being so located that the valve portsestablish communication simultaneously withv the exhaust passages whileone of the ports opens communication with one of the intake passages inad- Wimesses:

vance of the other port, said valve alsohaving another port followingone of the firstnamed ports and having a passage opening through theouter-surface of the valve, said passage having its-inner endcommunicating with the inside of the valve and being located adjacentsaid last-namedport.

15.,In a. valve construction for internal combustion engines, thecombinationof a movable valve for controlling the exhaust from thecylinder ofthe engine, a conduit within the valve and adapted to deliverinto the exhaust passage from the cylinder, and

means for actuating the valve to put one end of said conduit intocommunication .withthe cylinder when the piston is near one end orits'stroke, to have an ejector action and I I complete the exhaust.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specificationin thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

. WmmaM F. Nzcm, s1; D. ROLLHAUB- PHONSE LAFON.

